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Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
This is different from the usual message from a mayor. You probably don’t know that long before I was mayor, I was a gardening columnist for a major newspaper chain for a number of years, including most of a five-year drought. So, the drought is my topic.
Reducing water usage is on everyone’s mind. You don’t need me to tell you how to turn off the water while you brush your teeth, take shorter showers or run a dishwasher only when it’s full. You either already know that or my words won’t change your actions anyway. But I would like to talk about where the bulk of our water for many of us is used – outside.
Let’s start with the biggest water user: people’s lawns. Lawns work well in most of this country; they look great and handle foot traffic well. But here in our climate, I like this rule: “If the only person walking on a lawn is the person mowing it, it shouldn’t be a lawn.” There are so many choices that also look good but aren’t nearly as thirsty.
Next, take a look at your irrigation system. I hope that you’re already only watering early in the morning, when the water can soak in efficiently and the foliage will dry off soon enough to minimize fungal diseases. But there’s a downside to that schedule: It’s so easy to set and forget. I suggest that at least once a month, you get up early and see how it’s working (or put the system on manual for a couple of minutes per station). Perhaps a sprinkler head has popped off, or a drooping branch is now blocking flow, or a rodent has nibbled a hole in your line. All of these are easy to fix. And a hand-watering tip: Never leave a running hose unattended without setting a timer on your phone!
Now is also a great time to look at your garden and decide what doesn’t really belong there. I tend to get a lot of volunteer blackberry, olive and plum seedlings. My rule: If it’s green and I don’t want it, it’s wasting water. Or how about plants that are there on purpose but aren’t working for you? Say it’s a shrub that won’t thrive, a fruit tree that won’t fruit or a plant that’s too big – out they go, or at least stop watering them.
Now that you’ve got some open space, is this the time to plant those native and drought-resistant shrubs? In one word, my answer is “no.” OK, in two words: “not yet.” Even drought-resistant plants need a lot of water to get established. Let’s see how our winter rains do, and only put in new plants when this drought is behind us.
George Tyson is mayor of Los Altos Hills.
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